Claudine Barrett Cox was 70, with reported assets of $17.7 million, when she wed Thomas F. O’Connor, 72, whose net worth was documented as $1.1 million in their pre-nuptial agreement in 1998.

In 2005, according to court documents, Claudine gave $2 million to Thomas outright, launching a four-year series of gifts and transfers to him and his family. By 2010, the Cox and O’Connor clans were openly at odds, witnesses testified, and the couple became wards of the state in 2011. Claudine was taken by her family to Philadelphia and Thomas was moved to an assisted-living facility in New Jersey. The couple who hated to spend a night apart never saw each other again.

In May 2011, Claudine’s professional guardian, Ashley Butler, filed a lawsuit — joined by Claudine’s son — accusing Thomas’ daughter and son-in-law of defrauding Claudine and siphoning millions out of her trust. The daughter and son-in-law, Jeanne and George Saunders, both died during the course of the case, which had expanded to include their adult children and their legal firm.

Those adult children were dropped from the case in May, after a confidential settlement that called for undisclosed payments from Thomas’ trust to Claudine’s. They have not responded to requests for comment, and Thomas’ current condition is not known.

The case, which has involved at least 18 attorneys and and six judges, was supposed to culminate in a jury trial beginning this week, with the O’Connors’ law firm as the remaining defendant. But according to the firm’s attorney, the parties have agreed to settle. Total legal costs are still to be determined.

Claudine died on Aug. 30 in Philadelphia, where she was living with a granddaughter, according to newspaper notices in Missouri, where her family was from. Court records say she was 87, but her age was listed as 90. The obituaries detailed her many accomplishments, but made no mention of her 16-year marriage to Thomas. Her name was given as Claudine Barrett Cox.

Barbara Peters Smith

Barbara Peters Smith covers aging issues for the Sarasota Herald Tribune. She can be reached by email or call (941) 361-4936.

Last modified: December 8, 2014
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